This is a great question, and the answer is that universities serve their own institutional needs, not those of business, or of society, or even of students. I remember the shock when I was in college trying to learn Japanese and I asked why, after the first couple of years of language, all the Japanese classes switched to literature or obscure linguistics. I told them that I wanted classes in advanced language that would teach me how to live and work at a professional level in Japan: present in a business meeting, read a contract, etc. I claimed that going from basic language to advanced, modern, professional Japanese was a lot higher priority than a switch to archaic, literary Japanese or obscure linguistic analysis. They reacted with outrage, claiming that if they were to do what I was suggesting, they "wouldn't have any academic credibility at all!"
Ah, that's what it's about. Not my needs but theirs: not real-world skill but academic credibility.
Of course it would be what I needed if, and only if, I intended to become an academic in the field myself, but that is what universities are---farm leagues for finding and developing future professors.
Since professors are only a small portion of the work force, most people weren't even supposed to attend universities. Most people were supposed to enroll in other educational programs (tech schools, art/cooking/etc. academies, apprenticeships, and so on) if they intended to work for a living.
But these days, no employer wants you without a university degree, so universities can go on serving themselves and you'll pay for it anyway, because the end for non-professors is a general purpose "degree" credential that employers use as a proxy for generic employment qualification.
I'm not saying that computer science isn't important, just that it is a higher priority for academia than for business, and academia serves academia.
True. And CS is still one of the more practical degrees. But in the end faculty are weighted on their research, and producing Phds who cite their research, so post-undergrad employment isn't a big concern.
Ah, that's what it's about. Not my needs but theirs: not real-world skill but academic credibility.
Of course it would be what I needed if, and only if, I intended to become an academic in the field myself, but that is what universities are---farm leagues for finding and developing future professors.
Since professors are only a small portion of the work force, most people weren't even supposed to attend universities. Most people were supposed to enroll in other educational programs (tech schools, art/cooking/etc. academies, apprenticeships, and so on) if they intended to work for a living.
But these days, no employer wants you without a university degree, so universities can go on serving themselves and you'll pay for it anyway, because the end for non-professors is a general purpose "degree" credential that employers use as a proxy for generic employment qualification.
I'm not saying that computer science isn't important, just that it is a higher priority for academia than for business, and academia serves academia.